


As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: The Grove [12]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-19
Updated: 2011-10-19
Packaged: 2017-10-24 19:12:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’ll pick my bone with you later, IRS, believe me, but you might want to leave now. Plausible deniability and all.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

Volleyball day in gym always made Emily late. She only had study hall after, which was probably why she never rushed. Elle was out by the dumpsters, Dave Rossi’s old stomping grounds, and Emily was going to meet her out there when she was finished dressing. She was late getting in the shower because Coach Haas stopped her and asked if she would be a score keeper for next week’s girl’s soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse games. Emily was happy to do it. Debate team didn’t have a competition and she would finish up her article for the school paper early so there would be no conflicts.

Thinking about how she would do all of her extra-curricular activities, schoolwork, at least one date with Hotch, and sleep, Emily knew she’d have to disappoint her boyfriend or drink a lot of coffee. Luckily, she loved coffee. Humming _When I See You Smile_ , Emily sat on a bench in front of her locker and moisturized her skin. The locker room was huge and rather eerie so she tried to think of anything except being all alone in there. She was still dealing with residual feelings since Frank attacked her last year…a place like this was a serious trigger. Emily just sang John Waite and didn’t let the fear own her.

“Emily?”

“Oh Jesus!” she turned and looked at Kate Joyner. “You scared me witless.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“What are you doing here?” Emily put on her blue v-neck before standing and slipping into her stonewashed jeans.

“I need to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?”

Emily was skeptical but she didn’t express it. It had been a good day, a quiet day, and she had a clove waiting for her a few feet away. Kate Joyner could ruin all of that. She didn’t like to think the worst of people but the worst was Kate’s specialty.

“I guess so.” The brunette nodded. She opened her locker, looking in the mirror to brush her hair. She didn’t want to deal with Kate, or even look at her, but the faster she said whatever she needed to say, the faster she would be gone.

“Mark and I just celebrated our eight month anniversary. He got a reservation at DC Coast and I have to admit that I was impressed. I had on good authority that there was a six month waiting list for a decent table.”

“Mr. Gregory knows people,” Emily replied. “He called in a favor.”

“Probably, but c'mon a guy getting his dad to call in a marker to impress you…that’s a big deal.”

“I guess it is. Kate, do you have a point?”

“Yeah, I do. I love Mark; honestly I've never felt like this before in my life. It’s like a breath of fresh air; I feel like I'm constantly floating. Do you know what that feels like, Emily?”

“Yes.” She smiled despite herself as she closed her locker. “It’s magnificent, isn’t it?”

“It’s better than a coke high. I'm so comfortable with him, so safe, that I tell him everything. All the secrets I've kept locked away for years; I can tell them to Mark. He even knows all the guys I've slept with. I mean he is no virgin but I didn't even wince when I told him. It felt so good to be free. It felt good to know I could share the icky things and he wouldn’t desert me.”

“My stepmother says there is someone for everyone. Still, is there a point to your story?”

“I'm sorry,” Kate smiled. “I get to talking about Mark and always get off on a tangent. It drives my friends nuts. Anyway, I told him everything because I love him and was willing to deal with the consequences. If Aaron loves you, he would do the same.”

Eureka.

“What are you talking about?” Emily’s mouth went dry but her face remained neutral. She wouldn’t lose it in front of Kate…that was what the blonde wanted.

“Aaron and I slept together. I mean, it didn’t mean anything but…I can't hold it in anymore. I'm sorry, Emily.”

“Sorry? There is no way in hell that you're sorry, Kate!”

“I truly am! Why do you think I'm telling you?” Kate asked.

“Because you're cruel and a total bitch.” She replied. Her heart beat so quickly Emily was sure it would leap right out of her chest.

“Aaron should have told you. If he loved you then he would have told you just like I told Mark. I wasn’t keeping his dirty secret anymore; I needed to be free.”

“You get the hell away from me!” Emily exclaimed. She moved toward Kate and she backed up.

“Hey! What the hell is this?”

Elle Greenaway came around the corner. When she saw the two of them, she quickened her pace.

“Hey troll, did you lose your way looking for a bridge to crawl under?”

Kate looked at her and rolled her eyes.

“God Elle, isn’t there some sports team you could be giving head to? I'm not talking to you; I was having a rational conversation with Emily.”

“Get away from me, Kate.” Emily said.

“You heard her. Grab your broom and shove off.”

“Emily, I'm sorry.” Kate said, the sincerity in her voice sounding genuine. “I never intended to hurt you…I was selfish.”

“Go away.” Elle pointed toward the door.

Nodding solemnly, she left them alone. Elle turned to her friend.

“I was starting to worry about you so I came back. What the hell was that about?”

“I just need to get out of here, Elle.” Emily looked as if she was going to crawl out of her skin. “I need to go outside and we can talk about it.”

“OK,” Elle put her arm around Emily’s shoulder. “We’ll go and get some air.”

***

“Hotch has been unfaithful.” Emily took a deep inhale of the vanilla mint clove. She let the poison fill her stomach and chest.

“Seriously, I wouldn’t be at all shocked and surprised to hear that about any other guy I know. Hotch though, no way. Why would he ever do something like that?”

“People do all kinds of dumb things, even smart people.”

“Not Hotch.” Elle shook her head. “Anyway, where did he find the time? His schedule is more regimented than a soldier’s.” She smoked her own cigarette.

“I don't know but he did it.”

“With who?”

“Kate Joyner.”

“OK firstly, eww no way. No Emily, no way in hell. Is that what you two were talking about? She is lying through her teeth. Oh my God,” she laughed. “This is low, even for DC Barbie. Next time I see her I'm knocking out some of her teeth. Never have I been so excited for trig class. This means war.”

“I know she’s a liar and a manipulator. I come from a family of beautiful lairs, Elle…I can spot it a mile away. People’s facial ticks and body language change without their knowledge; it’s easy to see if you pay attention. She wasn’t lying.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Emily nodded. Though she tried to fight it, the tears rolled down her cheeks. “I'm sure.”

“Oh sweetie, I am so, so sorry.” Elle put her arm around Emily and pulled her close. “There has to be an explanation.”

“How do you explain that? Did he trip and land on top of her? Sex doesn’t happen by accident? How could he do that to me? He said I was the only one…how could he lie to me like that?”

Emily didn’t want to sob but it was impossible to stop herself. Her heart was breaking and it felt as if she was going to throw up. That’s exactly what she did, Elle holding her hair and trying to comfort her. Elle had known Hotch since ninth grade; this wasn’t him. She didn’t care what Kate said or what facial ticks she used, she was lying. She lied big and Elle planned to get to the bottom of this.

***

Hotch was surprised to see Emily waiting by his locker after eighth period. He passed his quiz on Mary Shelley’s _Frankenstein_ with flying colors. Now he needed to grab a few books and head to his student council meeting. Hopefully Reid would be done with Latin Club by then so he could drive him home. Emily would probably be busy with newspaper but Olivia or Cheryl would give her a ride. He usually liked to do it himself but this week was going to be really busy.

“Hey, baby.” He smiled as he approached, moving quickly through the throngs of people. The closer he got, the more he knew something was wrong. “Emily? Have you been crying? What’s the matter?”

“I found out your dirty secret.” She said.

“What do you mean? You and I don’t have secrets.”

“Oh, we have at least one. When were you going to tell me about Kate Joyner?”

The color drained from Hotch’s face; his hazel eyes focused on his shoes. As hard as he tried he couldn’t look at Emily again.

“Emily, I…”

“I don’t want to hear it. How could you possibly think I wanted details?”

“You have to let me explain.” Hotch could hardly whisper.

“All I need to know is the truth. Did you sleep with her?”

“It’s complicated, Emily.”

“Complicated? Look at me, Hotch. Aaron, look at me!”

It wasn’t often that Emily raised her voice, especially to him. He tried to look at her but failed. His shoes were much easier.

“Oh my God, oh God; I can't believe this. How could you do this to us? Nevermind, I don’t want to hear it. Nothing could make this alright. You disgust me.”

“Emily, I probably should’ve told you, but...”

“Shut up.” Emily pulled the ring off her finger and put it in the palm of his hand. “I never want to see you again.”

“It was a mistake, Emily. A horrible mistake and I…”

“You were a mistake.” She replied. “I gave you my heart and you could do something like that. There’s nothing left to discuss.”

Emily turned and walked away. Hotch wanted to chase after her, explain everything. His feet were stuck to the floor so that was going to be difficult at the moment. He had to get his mind right, his thoughts together. This wasn’t going to be easy but he’d been stupid to think he could hide it forever.

Hotch was going to kill Kate; this had to be her doing. No one else in the world, except for Jason and Derek, knew what happened that night. For a moment, panic ran through him as he thought about her telling Haley. Oh who cared, she wasn’t his girlfriend anymore; she was ancient history. This thing with Kate was also ancient history, buried deep with other secrets that Hotch hoped to never utter to a soul.

Emily Prentiss wasn’t just any soul. She was the girl he loved, the one who he wanted to share his life with. Except that now he was holding the promise ring in his hand and she was walking away. He couldn’t make Emily listen right now but there was someone else he needed to talk to anyway.

***

_So you think that it’s over_  
That you love has finally reached the end  
Anytime you call, night or day,  
I’ll be right there for you if you need a friend  
Its gonna take a little time  
Time is sure to mend your broken heart  
Don’t you even worry, pretty darlin’  
I know you’ll find love again yeah

Emily tried to focus on her Arabic workbook as she listened to the radio but it wasn’t happening. She’d never missed an assignment; she was sure Mrs. Becker wouldn’t care about her breakup. It had been three days and she was avoiding Hotch like the clap. She ate lunch with Elle and the other brunettes. She would walk different routes to her classes so she wouldn’t run into him. In the two classes they had together, she switched seats with Reid to be away from him.

She watched Kate walking around with her boyfriend and friends as if the whole world was her oyster. Surely she didn’t care if Emily’s life was falling apart…her conscience was clear. Actually, she didn’t have much of a conscience. Sighing, Emily closed the workbook. Then she threw it clean across the room.

“Em, are you alright?”

“Sure.”

“May I come in?”

Emily nodded. Natalie Prentiss walked into the room with a tray. She placed it on the nightstand before going to the corner to retrieve the workbook.

“What's going on, sweetheart? You’ve barely eaten in the past three days. You’ve been withdrawn and quiet; your father and I are worried about you. Are you worried about your mother? She is recovering so well.”

“I broke up with Hotch.” Emily replied.

“What happened?” Natalie asked, sitting down on the bed.

“He slept with Kate Joyner.”

“Emily, are you sure?”

“I'm sure.” The teenager nodded, wiping an errant tear. She was tired of tears. “When I confronted him he couldn’t even look me in the face.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing. He blubbered, floundered, and utterly failed. I could never forgive him for being unfaithful, but with her…I hate him.”

“You don’t mean that.” Natalie said.

“I’ll never, ever forgive him.”

“I believe that. I'm so sorry Emily; that behavior just didn’t seem to be in Hotch’s nature. I know you're angry sweetheart but you should probably talk to him. If anything it will give you some peace of mind.”

Emily shook her head. As far as she was concerned there would never be peace for her again.

“I can't do that, Nat. I refuse to lose it in front of him. It’s hard enough seeing him in school all day. My friends, our friends, try to make sure I'm OK but I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I'm sure. Still, do you think you'll be able to live with your hopes and dreams being dashed on the word of someone who isn’t at all trustworthy?”

Emily didn’t say anything. She glanced over the plate of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. Her stomach began to growl...she hadn’t had a decent meal in days.

“I'm starving.” She grabbed the tray, leaning against her pillows.

“I'm sure you are. Eat something and then maybe you won't throw workbooks across the room.”

“That was immature.”

“There was no law against being angry. I would think this situation warrants that emotion.” Natalie said.

“Has Hotch called at all?” Emily didn’t want to ask but couldn’t help herself. For the past three days she hadn’t been answering her phone. Her female friends had a code, let the phone ring twice, hang up and call right back. When the other line beeped, Emily ignored it.

“Only about 10 times yesterday and the day before; he kept saying your line was busy. Your father talked to him. He hasn’t called tonight though.”

“Good. He’s finally getting the message.” Her heart wasn’t quite in it but she said it anyway.

“Eat sweetheart, then come downstairs and we’ll work on your Arabic together…you'll get the assignment done.”

“Thanks, Nat.”

“Anytime.” She leaned to kiss Emily’s cheek. “You'll have to resolve this eventually.”

“I gave him the ring back; it’s resolved.”

“Alright; well eat your dinner.”

Natalie got up from the bed and left the room. Emily ate something substantive for the first time in days.

***

“You and I need to have a conversation.”

She’d been all but invisible for the past four days but Hotch finally caught up with Kate on Friday. She looked up from the computer. She was alone in the lab; there wasn’t too many ways to get out of this.

“About what, Aaron?”

“Are you serious?”

“Well I'm not a psychic…fill me in.”

“Kate, the last thing you need to be is nonchalant. What the hell were you thinking?”

Kate gave him a confused look and it took all of his strength not to choke her. Hotch knew he had a bad temper; perhaps he shouldn’t have come alone. No, he was better than his demons. He was better than Kate Joyner.

“What were you thinking telling Emily we slept together?” he asked.

“She’s your girlfriend, why didn’t you tell her?”

“It’s the past, Kate! And you made it seem as if it was two weeks ago and not two years ago. I didn’t even know Emily then.”

“Then what's the big deal?”

“She broke up with me, and it’s your fault.”

“Well if she broke up with you over some transgression in your past then maybe she wasn’t worth it in the first place.”

“Emily means everything to me and that’s what burns you up, isn’t it? You had to get me so drunk that I was nearly unconscious and I still didn’t want you.”

“I didn’t hear you saying no.” Kate replied, putting her hands on her hips.

“It was kinda hard to do in a semi-conscious state. You practically raped me.”

“Oh please,” she laughed. “Is that what you told Emily? No wonder she dumped you.”

“We never had sex!” Hotch exclaimed. “Whatever happened between us only did so in your twisted mind. What did I ever do to deserve your wrath?”

“I just cleared my conscience, Aaron; I'm sorry if your girlfriend couldn’t handle the truth.”

“There was no truth to it. Since you're getting so much off your chest, did you ever tell Haley that you molested her drunken boyfriend? I'm sure she’s eager to know.”

“Haley has nothing to do with this.”

“Yeah, you don’t want her to spit in your face. All this was about was hurting Emily and I. You disgust me, Kate; you're ugly inside and out. You're just a piece of poison wrapped in pretty tinfoil.”

“Are you through?” she asked.

“I've been through with you for as long as I can remember. You may think you’ve won the battle but I assure you, I will win the war. When it’s all said and done just remember you started this.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Kate smirked, throwing her Izod messenger bag across her chest. She started walking to the door. “Well you have a nice weekend, Aaron; I’ll see you…”

“I thought you'd be in here.” Elle came through the door. “I have a serious bone to pick with you.”

“I'm not afraid of you, Elle.”

“That’s one of many mistakes you’ve made recently.” She glanced at Hotch. “I’ll pick my bone with you later, IRS, believe me, but you might want to leave now. Plausible deniability and all.”

“OK.”

“Aaron! Don’t leave me alone with this psycho.”

“You made your bed, Kate…get comfortable.” He walked out, running into Penelope keeping watch.

“I don't know if leaving those two alone was the best idea.” He said.

“I adore you so much but you're crazy if you think I'm speaking to you right now.” Garcia replied.

“Garcia, do you really think I would ever cheat on Emily?”

“Well you sure weren't denying it when confronted.” The usual perky blonde crossed her arms.

“Kate and I…no, there is no Kate and I. Two years ago there was a party at Erin Strauss’ house. She kept giving me drinks and then dragged me off to a bedroom.” Hotch felt sick saying it. He was going back there in his mind…he promised himself he would never go back there. “We didn’t go all the way but she’s been holding it over my head ever since. I should have told Emily the truth; especially when she confronted me. I never said I wasn’t an idiot.”

“Good, because you are, boss. You really, really are.”

Elle came bursting out of the door.

“Scatter Penelope! Separate directions!”

He watched them both run off before quickly making his way to his locker. Whatever that was about he wanted no parts of it. Plausible deniability indeed.

***

“Em?” Gregory Prentiss tapped on the door.

“Yes, Daddy?” Emily looked up from _Women in Love_.

“Aaron is here.”

“OK.”

Hotch walked into the room, leaving the door ajar. He stood by it just in case things went downhill quickly. A million times he’d gone over what he would say but that surely didn’t mean it would work as he wanted or intended. Hotch was shocked when Emily called him earlier that evening. She didn’t exactly sound forgiving but it was the first time she’d said a word to him since Monday. That was some kind of progress.

While he had gone over all the things he wanted to say, somehow he forgot a greeting. Sounding too casual might be another nail in his coffin. He could skip it altogether but that would be rude. Making it too formal would just be weird; she was his girlfriend. Well, she used to be his girlfriend. She was still absolutely everything…except his girlfriend.

“You need to tell me the truth, Aaron, about what happened with you and Kate Joyner.”

“Firstly, it was two years ago.” He said.

“I know.”

“How would you…Garcia.”

“She told me you two had a conversation. She didn’t tell me all the details. It’s only because of her that I even called you so you owe her something big. She has her eye on some platform Mary Janes at Strawbridge’s…they’ve been on layaway for a couple of months now.”

“Doesn’t she own…oh nevermind? I am so sorry, Em.”

“Sit down and tell me what happened.”

Hotch nodded and sat down at her desk.

“Sit down over here, Hotch.”

He came over to her bed, sitting down on the edge. It was still hard to look her in the eye and talk about it. Nothing ever stayed in the past, did it?

“There was a party at Erin Strauss’ house. I didn’t even want to be there but Haley insisted…she said I needed to spend time with a different class of people. The place was filled with drunken rich kids and I was bored out of my skull so I started drinking. In retrospect, that was not the best idea. Haley left me to hang out with Erin and Kate came into the kitchen. She had a bottle of Southern Comfort and I had a glass.

“Emily, I know we talked but I hardly remember what we talked about. I think I blacked out from the alcohol but I may just be repressing the truth. The next thing I remember we were upstairs in a bedroom, naked, and she was doing things to me. God, it’s disgusting but I was freaked out and turned on at the same time. My body was reacting much differently than my mind. I tried to tell her no; that this was a bad idea. I remember saying that I didn’t want to but I kept slipping into blackness before I could do anything.”

“How do you know that you didn’t have sex with her?” Emily asked.

“Kate teased me relentlessly about it for months. She always cornered me somewhere, when Haley wasn’t around. She would say things like it was surprising a guy so young only had one shot in him. She would ask me if I still thought about her mouth on me.” Hotch shuddered just thinking about it. “The whole thing made my stomach turn but I thought it was over. I am so sorry, Emily.”

“You don’t have to apologize anymore.” She took his face in her hands. “It happened before we were together; before we even knew each other.”

“That’s what I wanted to say when you confronted me. I was frozen; petrified…it was literally my worst nightmare come true. I just can't believe she would do that to me.”

“Why? She’s a bitch.”

“Em!” Hotch covered her mouth. He moaned softly when she kissed his fingertips. “Baby…”

“I love you, Aaron,” She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. “So much. I should have been better about listening to you. I shouldn’t have believed a word Kate said but I was thrown for a loop.”

“It’s over now; all I need is to hold onto you. Losing you was the worst feeling I've ever felt in my life. I was free falling; had no idea how hard I would hit the ground.”

Emily just held on tight to him, deeply inhaling his scent. He always smelled like a rainstorm. She knew it was Coast soap. When Hotch kissed her, Emily felt her heart soar. It had been four days but felt like a lifetime. While she surely had no intention of forgiving him if he’d been unfaithful, the idea of never kissing him again cause a pain Emily never felt in her life. The idea of never touching him or being touched was pure agony.

“Aaron…” she pressed the palm of her hand on his.

“I love you, Emily. It’s only been you and me. I don’t care how insane people think we are, spending the rest of my life with you will be my profoundest happiness. I'm sorry I almost let Kate ruin that.”

“Why would she do something like this?”

“I refuse to even venture a guess.” Hotch replied. “She didn’t succeed though.”

“She nearly did.” Emily said.

“That’s only because I'm an idiot.”

“You mean the world to me, idiot or not.”

Hotch grinned, deep holes poking into his cheeks. He placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose before his mouth captured hers. The two of them were lost in each other, which wasn’t unusual, and didn’t hear anyone come in.

“I take this to mean there’s been reconciliation.”

“Oh my God, daddy!” Emily jumped but Hotch held onto her. “You scared me.”

“I didn’t intend to but you were occupied.” Gregory said, smiling. “You two should come downstairs and have some dinner. Natalie made rotini and garlic bread.”

“It smells amazing, Ambassador Prentiss.” Hotch said.

“Please stay and have some, Aaron.”

“We’ll be down in a few minutes, Daddy.”

He nodded and left the bedroom, once again leaving the door ajar.

“Are we alright, Emily?” he asked when they were alone.

“Well there is one thing.”

“What?”

“I'm missing something.” Emily held up her right hand.

Now it was Hotch’s turn to smile. He took the ring from his khaki pocket and slipped it back on her finger. Then he kissed her.

“I'm never taking it off again.” She whispered against his lips.

“That’s music to my ears, baby.”

“I'm also going to have a little talk with Kate.”

“I wish you wouldn’t. I just want to put this behind us.”

Emily knew it was already behind them. She knew the truth, she and Hotch were back together, but that wasn’t the end. Kate needed a stern talking to and Emily Prentiss planned to have her say. It probably wouldn’t matter one way or the other but the sneaky blonde needed to hear straight from the horse’s mouth that she hadn’t succeeded and that she never would.

“I'm pretty hungry.” Hotch said, his forehead pressed on hers. “I haven’t eaten much these past few days.”

“Well then,” Emily stood from the bed. “We’ll get you nice and full. Natalie makes the best rotini.”

He took her hand and she pulled him up. Their arms around each other, the teenagers walked out of the room headed downstairs to spend some quality time with the Prentiss family and with each other. It was going to be hard for Hotch to let go tonight but he was consoled knowing that Emily would be there tomorrow, the next day, and hopefully everyday after that.

***


End file.
